Along the lines of this NY Times infographic on the enormous opportunity cost of the Iraq war (say... universal health care in the U.S. — twice over), my friend Noah has packaged a more experiential approach: plantable firearms made of clay, compost, and a mix of seeds. Walk through the manufacturing process at this Flash photo gallery or order one of your own. (via, via)

The American labor movement has an amazing history of graphic production, creating some of the most effective political images in the history of this country. However, work and workers, along with the labor movement, are often depicted as experiences of the American past: photographs of children in factories in the early 1900’s, paintings of Joe Hill or Rosa Parks, historic strikes and Rosie the Riveter.

Now the labor movement needs new images of the issues confronting workers today. We are asking innovative artists to create posters that relate to today's workers.  Twenty-five posters will be chosen to exhibit.  Five designs will be selected for mass printing and distribution in union halls, schools, and community centers around the country. 

A great action in NYC, taping placards over those outdoor video billboards attached to subway entrances. The typography is composed of holes in the board, illuminated by the video ad beneath.

The project is Light Criticism, brought to you by the Anti-Advertising Agency and the Graffiti Research Lab.

In form, it reminds me of the work of Moose, writing his name on walls by cleaning them.

In context, it’s a lot like this guerilla wayfinding campaign, a grassroots, illegal action for civic improvement.

Sociology Professors Andrew Roth and Peter Phillips from Project Censored were interviewed by Riz Kahn on Al Jazeera English on January 1, 2007. It’s a nice introduction and overview of Project Censored, its methodology, and some of the top stories from 2006. Here’s the video on YouTube:

The opposite of shoplifting, shopdropping is covertly placing merchandise on display in retail environments.

For instance, Banksy altering the Paris Hilton debut album and leaving it at the record store to critique and politicize its message, or the Barbie Liberation Organization swapping the voice hardware of Teen Talk Barbie and the Talking Duke G.I. Joe doll and returning the dolls to the shelves. (Instructions here.)

A new project from the Anti-Advertising Agency is PeopleProducts123. From the Web site you can download PDFs of new packaging for products, print them out, color them in, and place them in your local store. The improved packaging featuring images and stories about the workers who make them. 

Participants are encouraged to upload their images to Flickr, tagged peopleproducts123. See a video about the project here.

UNESCO regonition seems to carry a heavy burden of opportunity.

La Huasteca canyon, an ecological park in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park in north-eastern Mexico, may soon become part of a high-end residential development and golf course.

Last October, the municipality of Santa Catarina approved a 900 million dollar project to build more than 9,000 housing units and a 27-tee golf course in this place. Just a few days earlier it had been made part of a UNESCO biosphere network. Monterrey will also host the second Universal Forum of Cultures in 2007.

La Huasteca is a frequented family outing, camping and climbing site. One third of the drinking-water in Monterrey (pop. 3.7 million) comes from La Huasteca. There are over a thousand species in the area, seventy-three of which are endagered. See photos here.

The state and federal governments have pretty much washed their hands off the issue while local politicians, including a brother of the Governor, own part of the land.

Media coverage and activists have forced the new municipal authorities to claim they would freeze the project for at least three years, but they are now hinting they could give it the go-ahead this week.

Two activist websites are lahuasteca.org and voluntariosgreenpeace-mty.blogspot.com. Subcomandante Marcos shows his support to activists in this audio file.

See La Huasteca at Flickr, or read about it in Crain’s and La Jornada